Mobile negative pressure wound therapy device

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to a mobile negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device comprising a negative pressure pump, where the NPWT device is adapted to generate an alarm signal in case of an abnormal operation of the NPWT device. The present disclosure also relates to a corresponding method for operating such an NPWT device and a thereto related computer program product.

The invention claimed is: 
     
         1 . A mobile negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device, comprising:
 a housing,   a negative pressure pump arranged within the housing,   a canister configured to be fluidly coupled to the negative pressure pump and to a wound cover, the wound cover provided for creating a sealed space defined in part by a wound site,   a battery arranged within the housing,   a control unit arranged within the housing, the control unit being electrically connected to the battery and adapted to provide power to the negative pressure pump for operating the negative pressure pump to establish a negative pressure within the sealed space, and   a pressure sensor connected to the control unit and adapted to provide an indication of the negative pressure formed by the negative pressure pump, wherein the control unit is further adapted to:
 receive a request to activate the negative pressure pump, 
 control an activation of the negative pressure pump based on a predefined set-point and the indication of the negative pressure provided by the pressure sensor, 
 determine a first duration corresponding to pressure measurements transitioning between an upper threshold and a lower threshold during normal operation, 
 determine a second duration corresponding to pressure measurements transitioning between the upper threshold and the lower threshold, wherein each of the first and second durations corresponds to a respective interval during which the pump is exclusively either active or inactive, 
 form an alarm signal if the second duration is outside a predetermined variance from the first duration. 
   
     
     
         2 . The NPWT device according to  claim 1 , further comprising a speaker element and thereto connected circuitry for driving the speaker element, wherein the driver circuitry is adapted to receive the alarm signal. 
     
     
         3 . The NPWT device according to  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further adapted to:
 identify an indication of an unwanted leakage relating to at least one of the NPWT device or the wound cover if the second duration is above 20 seconds.   
     
     
         4 . The NPWT device according to  claim 3 , wherein the control unit is further adapted to:
 transition the NPWT device to a leakage mode if the unwanted leakage is identified.   
     
     
         5 . The NPWT device according to  claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further adapted to:
 measure a non-operational period for the negative pressure pump; and   identify an indication of an unwanted blockage relating to at least one of the NPWT device or the wound cover if the measured non-operational period for the negative pressure pump is above 60 seconds.   
     
     
         6 . The NPWT device according to  claim 5 , wherein the control unit is further adapted to:
 transition the NPWT device to a blockage mode if the unwanted blockage is identified.   
     
     
         7 . The NPWT device according to  claim 1 , wherein the determination of the behavior for the negative pressure pump is based on a measured energy consumption of the negative pressure pump, and at least some of the plurality of predefined behaviors are related to different energy consumption ranges for the negative pressure pump. 
     
     
         8 . A wound treatment system, comprising:
 an NPWT device according to  claim 1 , and   a wound cover.   
     
     
         9 . A method of operating a mobile negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device, the NPWT device comprising:
 a housing,   a negative pressure pump arranged within the housing,   a canister fluidly coupled to the negative pressure pump and to a wound cover, the wound cover provided for creating a sealed space defined in part by a wound site,   a battery arranged within the housing,   a control unit arranged within the housing, the control unit being electrically connected to the battery and adapted to provide power to the negative pressure pump for operating the negative pressure pump to establish a negative pressure within the sealed space, and   a pressure sensor connected to the control unit and adapted to provide an indication of the negative pressure formed by the negative pressure pump, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
 receiving a request to activate the negative pressure pump, 
 controlling an activation of the negative pressure pump based on a predefined set-point and the indication of the negative pressure provided by the pressure sensor, 
 determining a first duration corresponding to pressure measurements transitioning between an upper threshold and a lower threshold during normal operation, 
 determining a second duration corresponding to pressure measurements transitioning between the upper threshold and the lower threshold, wherein each of the first and second durations corresponds to a respective interval during which the pump is exclusively active or inactive, 
 forming an alarm signal if the second duration is outside a predetermined variance from the first duration. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising the step of:
 determining, using the control unit, an alarm type based on the determined behavior.   
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising the step of:
 identifying an indication of an unwanted leakage relating to at least one of the NPWT device or the wound cover if the second duration is above 20 seconds.   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 9 , further comprising the step of:
 measuring a non-operational period for the negative pressure pump; and   identifying an indication of an unwanted blockage relating to at least one of the NPWT device or the wound cover if the measured non-operational period for the negative pressure pump is above 60 seconds.   
     
     
         13 . A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program means for operating a mobile negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) device, the NPWT device comprising:
 a housing,   a negative pressure pump arranged within the housing,   a canister fluidly coupled to the negative pressure pump and to a wound cover, the wound cover provided for creating a sealed space defined in part by a wound site,   a battery arranged within the housing,   a control unit arranged within the housing, the control unit being electrically connected to the battery and adapted to provide power to the negative pressure pump for operating the negative pressure pump to establish a negative pressure within the sealed space, and   a pressure sensor connected to the control unit and adapted to provide an indication of the negative pressure formed by the negative pressure pump, wherein the computer program product comprises:
 code for receiving a request to activate the negative pressure pump, 
 code for controlling an activation of the negative pressure pump based on a predefined set-point and the indication of the negative pressure provided by the pressure sensor, 
 code for determining a first duration corresponding to pressure measurements transitioning between an upper threshold and a lower threshold during normal operation 
 code for determining a second duration corresponding to pressure measurements transitioning between the upper threshold and the lower threshold, wherein each of the first and second durations corresponds to a respective interval during which the pump is exclusively active or inactive, 
 code for forming an alarm signal if the second duration is outside a predetermined variance from the first duration.